Mail box with audible signal



Feb. 17. 1925.

Filed Oct. 12,' 19 22 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 gwuentoz J. fiyfi azzsozz Lee}; 5. Mar Vin.

Feb. 17. 1925.

J. B. HANSON ET AL MAIL BOX WITH AUDIBLE SIGNAL Filed 001:. 12, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 JfiJEamon,

. Leon S/VarV/c.

Mm (1 .1011 L014 Patented Feb. 17, 1925.

STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES B. .HANSON AND LEON S. MARVIN, E ATLANTIC, IOWA.

MAIL BOX WITH AUDIBLE SIGNAL.

Application filed October 12, 1922.

T 0 all whom it may concern-:

Be it known that we, JAin-is- 1-3.. Hanson and LEON S. Mxnvrm-eitizensof the: United States, residing at Atlantic, in the county of Cass and State of Iowa, have invented cer tain new and useful Improvements inM-ail Boxes with Audible: Signals-,- of which. the following is a specification.

The present invention relates-.tomailboxes in general and more. particularly to.- mail.

situated in the: dwelling house or apartment. towhich the mail: box. belongs, and. which. circuit willbe closed tosound the. alarm: si. multaneously withth-e ton to-open the box.

As soon as the mail box-.1 closed, the-alarm will he silenced and: it: wil lnow beevident that the mail box cannot be opened without an alarm being given and that. for this. rea:

son no mail can be deposited inor removed. from the mall: box without the. occupants ozt the house or apartment being notified.

When used. in apartment. houses, each.

a p artment: will be provided wit-hone of? these boxes 'situatedxon the ground floor or base-. ment. This will save the mail carriercon: siderable time and: work. from each box and to thee correspcmdin'g apartment in. which abell or buzzer will be.

situated connected with that circuit.

Another object of. the. invention: is'to furnish the box with a name plate for the mail carriers information. i

The invention is also suitable for rural delivery as the box may be positioned any distance from the house provided the electric connection runs from the same into the owners house.

The device is a considerable time saver not only for the mail carrier but also for the owner of the box as he does not need to frequently inspect the box to ascertain whether mail has arrived, but will now be informed thereof at the instant the box is opened and the mail placed therein.

The mail box is very simple in construction allowing access to all parts and is very inexpensive.

In the accompanying drawings one empressing of. the but- A circuit runs- Serial No. 594,082.

bodiment of the invention is illustrated, and- Fig. 1: shows a perspective view of the box attached to a wall;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section thereof;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of an operating lever;

Fig. 5 is a. d'iagramniatical view of the electric circuit;

Fig. 5 is a. perspective view of a. partition I in the box; [he mam objectiSl-tO- provide a mail boxof.

Fig; 6 is afragmentary horizontal sect-ion along line 6-6 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 7 is a section along line. 'T-.T of Fig. 5. i

The box consists of. a. casing 10 having: side walls 11, front wall 12, back 13. andbot-v tom 14, which all may be cut out of a sheet of metal and joined in any suitable.

manner along the corners. The back 13. is preferably higher than. the front 12-and has provision for securing the box by means of nails or screws 15 to a wall ofthehouse or post as the case may. be. The side walls-11 have their top edges slanting forward tov co.- incide with the back and front. walls and the opening at the top of the box is covered by a lid 16 hinged as at 17 to the back wall 13. of the box. A coiled spring 18. is wound around the hinge-pin and having its straightends 19 and 20 engaging respectively with the lid 16' and the back wall. 13. in such a manner that, when. the lid is free, it will be. swung upwards by the spring. The size of the lid is, of course, such as to entirely cover the opening in the box and substantially preventthe, entering of moisture and dust into the same, in this manner effectively protecting the contents of the box.

To the front wall. 12 is rigidly secured a lever 21 made of flexible material such as spring steel or hard brass. This lever terniinates with a bent-over nose 22 at its upper end, which is adapted to engage with a hook 23 furnished on the under side of the lid 16. The lever tends to press forwardly in the box and in this manner engage firmly with the hook 23, when the lid is closed. A button 24: is fastened to the lever 21 and extends forwardly therefrom through an aperture 25 in the front wall 12 and around the aperture is preferably placed a washer 26 for guiding the button 24. The button 2t projects sufficiently far out beyond the end of the washer 26, so that the mail carrier who generally has both his hands occupied does not need to use his fingers to press the button 24, but can use the back of his hand or his elbow to push it inwardly. In doing so, the lever 21 swings back into the box thereby releasing the hook 23 and the spring 18 will then swing the lid 16 open so as to permit the depositing or removing of mail.

At a suflicient distance from the front wall 12 is inserted a partition 27, which reaches from top to bottom of the box and permits the swinging of the lever 21 to release the vided by the top edge of the partition being bent forward to the same angle as the slope .of the side wall": 11. The length of these flanges is equal to the distance between the partition in the front wall 12 and the flanges are intended to close up the space between the partition in the front wall, so that no mail matter may fall in between the two. The flanges also serve as supports for the lid when closed. The flanges 29 are placed sufficiently far apart to permit free operation between thenose 22 of the lever and the hook23 of the lid.

At in Fig. 3 is shown an insulating plate attached to the lever 21 and towhich is secured a metallic tongue 31, the lower end of which carries a wire 32 forming one terminal of the circuit 33 leading to the house or the apartment occupied by the owner of the box. This circuit contains a battery 34: a bell 35 or,a buzzer 36 and a transformer 37. The other. terminal of the circuit is formed at 38, where the wire 39 is attached to a contact finger 40 secured on an insulating plate ll secured to the partition 27 as best seen in. Figs. 5 and 7.

At the bottom of partition 27 is provided a cut 42 and'likewisean aperture 43 at the open, the movement of the lever will cause the tongue 31 to contact with the finger 4O and in this manner close the circuit- An alarm will now be given by a bell 35 or buzzer 36 and this alarm will continue to be sounded as long as the lid 16 stays open. The mail carrier may after depositing the mail in the box leave the lid open and an occupant of the house or apartment will subsequently remove the mail and close the lid,whcn the alarm will be stopped as the contact is broken. If on the other hand, the mail carrier is instructed to close the lid after delivery of the mail, only a momentary alarm would be given as long as the lid stands open. It is evident that any unauthorized person tampering with the box will set the alarm going to notify the owner thereof.

At 44 is shown a name plate, which is preferably attached to the front wall 12 of the box by means of a pair of side fingers 45 and a pair of bottom fingers 46, which are'formed by stamping slits in the wall of the box. The name plate as best seen in Fig. 1 may easily be slid down between the side fingers4c5 to rest on the bottom fingers 16.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

A mail box comprising a cabinet open at the top, a hinged lid covering its opening, a catch on the lid, a flexible lever secured on the front wall of the cabinet and provided with a nose adapted to engage with the catch on the lid when closed, said lever being provided with a button projecting through the front wall of the cabinet, a partition secured in the cabinet in spaced relation to said wall, said partition having flanges, said nose and-flanges adapted to close the opening between the partition and said front wall.

In testimony whereof we afiix our signatures.

JAMES B. HANSON. [1 s] LEON S. MARVIN. '[n s.] 

